David Wolfe on superfoods, healing herbs & medicinal mushrooms

Happy Summer!!

 Life is generous to those who pursue their destiny ~ David Wolfe

 Last week I heard David Avocado Wolfe speak and what an experience it was!

He's considered to be one of the leading authorities on natural health, nutrition, raw living foods, healing herbs, superfoods and chocolate, among other things! He is such a wealth of knowledge and full of personality and charisma. He is one of the best speakers I've ever heard and captured my attention for every minute of the several hours he spoke. I sat up front and it felt as if he was speaking right to me. David considers himself an orator and that he is! He weaved his teachings in with funny stories and had us all laughing and learning throughout the evening. One of his favorite mantras is the quote
"let food be your medicine and medicine be your food".

I firmly believe in that approach to life and am striving to live by that creed myself. It's a constant learning process and one that I'm passionate about giving my all to. Eating a nutritious diet full of greens,veggies and fruits and eliminating processed foods has certainly been the key to my new found healthy happiness!

 Living a vibrant, joyful, healthy life is what David Wolfe is all about. His message is to have the best day ever ~ one we should all embrace.

 He talked about how, when you're feeling good, you have the desire to feel better, then way better, then striving to feel your best ever. I couldn't agree more. This has been my experience since I began my healthy journey. I am always striving to learn new ways to nourish myself, mind body and soul.

 I was happy to hear that I'm on the right track with much of the food I eat and excited to introduce some new ones into my diet too.
Recently I've begun drinking spring water. It's said to hydrate you on a cellular level and be very therapeutic. I have to say yes, it does taste different! It's so smooth ~ I love it! What's not to love about water straight from Mother Earth. I already eat lots of celery, beets,seaweed and sprouts, all considered crucial to good health and well being. I sometimes add maca and spirulina to my green smoothies and I love highly beneficial coconut oil. The next step will be adding the healing mushroom teas and tonics and superfoods into my routine. This is an area I'm not too familiar with and have been wanting to explore for awhile now.

According to David superfoods are vibrant, nutritionally dense foods that have recently become widely available and which offer tremendous dietary and healing potential. In this lively, illustrated overview, well-known raw-foods guru David Wolfe profiles delicious and incredibly nutritious plant products such as goji berries, hempseed, cacao beans (raw chocolate), maca, spirulina, bee products, and a host of others. As powerful sources of clean protein, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, antioxidants, good fats and oils, essential fatty and amino acids, and other nutrients, they represent a uniquely promising piece of the nutritional puzzle.

I enjoy many of these already ~ I add maca, spirulina and bee pollen to my smoothies sometimes, munch on goji berries and whip up a dessert with cacao and they're all really delicious! 
Nutritious & delicious....What's not to love?

    Here's a few David Wolfe videos on some of his favorite subjects.

                                      Medicinal Mushrooms

                                

                                            Superfoods

                                  

                                  David's top 10 herbs list

All in all it was a terrific evening! I came away excited and enthused about all the new ways to further enhance my healthy happiness and have the best day ever ~ every day!

Healthy Happiness :)

 

 When I woke up to sunshine this morning I felt like singing! I felt a renewed sense of energy that had been slowly slipping away these past several weeks of rain & chilly weather. I am someone who thrives on sunshine Summer is when I am at my best. I saw my first lightening bug of the season last night and a butterfly just landed near my feet. I'm smiling as I breath in the intoxicating scent of honeysuckles. Everything comes alive in the warmth of Spring and so do I.    :)
 The season of plentiful fruits & veggies lends itself well to a simple diet that suits me so well.. I gather so many recipes, mostly raw foods, from the many wonderful sites on the internet. The internet is such an amazing tool for learning, virtually anything I want is at my fingertips! Isn't it amazing?  The funny thing is, I have hundreds of recipes saved here in my little Netbook, but rarely do I take the time to make many of them. Yet when I do make the effort, I am always so pleased with the results.
Here's a wonderful  Lime Ginger Wrap that is super delicious and easy to prepare! 
It's such a light, refreshing dish for a summer night. I fell in love with it.  :)

 Lime Ginger Wraps                                                
1 cup raw cashews
1 peeled lime
1 inch  piece fresh ginger
1 tsp coconut aminos  
2 tbsp coconut oil

4 large Swiss Chard leaves
shredded carrots 
sliced cucumber 
sprouts
any fresh herbs on hand  (I used parsley and chives)


Blend first 5 ingredients in highspeed blender ~ I used my Vitamix
blend until smooth 


Fold Swiss Chard leaves in half and trim off the stem lengthwise
leaving 2 half leaves
spread some of the lime ginger mix onto each leave
layer with carrots, cukes, sprouts & herbs
roll up & Enjoy!!


* this recipe comes from the Raw Food Institute ~  http://therawfoodinstitute.com/


Recently I decided to add some sprouted seeds to my favorite chia seed cereal. I was looking for both the added nutrition and a little extra texture. First I soaked some sunflower seeds & pumpkin seeds in a bowl of water for about 6 hours.You can see the little tails sprouting out of them at this point and know they're ready to eat. Nuts and seeds contain enzyme inhibitors. By soaking them you release the enzyme inhibitors and increase the life and vitality within the seeds. I rinsed them well several times.
I snacked on some ~ they make a great snack  and added the rest to a bowl of blueberry chia seed cereal.
                                                                          Delicious!!

Sprouted Blueberry Chia Cereal
2 Tbsp Chia seeds
1 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
mix well on and off for 5 minutes until it becomes gel like consistency 
add fresh blueberries
sprouted seeds
Enjoy!!


 This cereal travels well too! Here I added sliced almonds rather than the sprouted seeds. Chia is one of my very favorite foods. It's so versatile ~ easy ~ filling ~ nutritious & delicious! What more could you ask for?

          I would love to hear from you if you've tried these or any of the recipes I've posted on my blog!


Healthy Happiness :)

We turn not older with years, but newer every day.
Emily Dickinson

Happy Birthday to me ~ today I turned 53 years new :)


I'm so grateful and blessed to feel so wonderful and healthy at this stage of my life. Do I wish that I had found my way to healthy happiness 20 years ago? Of course ~ but I believe everything happens for a reason. Perhaps it's as simple as just appreciating each and every day :)
I love waking up early to start my day as the sun comes up. Listening to the birds sing and watering my garden are highlights of my mornings. Blending up my greens and tending to my wheatgrass and sprouts bring me joy. I don't think these little things would have brought me such pleasure in my busy,hectic 30's. Everything in it's own time. This is my time to nourish myself body,mind and soul and to finally feel comfortable in my own skin   :)


 With this summer weather comes lots of lovely local greens and veggies! This year I'm participating in a CSA program (community supported agriculture) and I've already received 2 boxes of glorious green goodies. Patti at Sport Hill Farm teamed up with Linda at Green Gourmet to Go and each week they provide a box of seasonal produce along with a container of vegan or vegetarian soup and a healthy dessert :)   Wonderful!!

I've been blending up delicious green smoothies and putting together some great recipes with all this wonderful produce!!


                                                      This smoothie is awesome

ultimate green goodness  :)


1 bunch romaine lettuce
handful of dandelion greens
handful fresh sprouts
large cucumber
2 stalks celery
1 pear
1 inch piece ginger
handful of parsley
1 1/2 ups water


Blend well & sip your way to health!!


This also is great with an apple in place of the pear


Here's a couple other variations I've made ~


1 bunch red leaf lettuce
handful parsley
1/2 pint strawberries
1/2 banana
1 cucumber
2 stalks celery
1 1/2 cups of water


large handful of mixed spring greens
handful sprouts
6 large kale leaves
1 cucumber
2 green apples
1 inch fresh ginger
1 1/2 cups water


Any variation of greens & fruits are delicious & nutritious! There is so much available right now!
Always use organic when possible
mix it up ~ be creative ~ have fun with it!!    Enjoy :)

                                           Summer salad with honey lime vinaigrette dressing


Mixed fresh local lettuces
sliced red pepper
fresh scallions
fresh parsley
fresh lemongrass
raw sunflower seeds
fresh sprouts
handful of California raisins ~ no comparison to regular store bought :)


honey lime vinaigrette

juice of 1 lime

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup raw honey

pinch sea salt

Just wisk it up & enjoy

I was planning to post a few more amazing recipes I've made lately ~ but a birthday surprise is calling my name :)

Next up ~ lime ginger wraps

sprouted seed blueberry chia 

sprouted quinoa summer salad

Have a Happy Healthy Weekend!!

Good Morning!


 Here I sit in my beautiful backyard, enjoying the sunshine and working in my humble little garden. It's so peaceful, I love days like this. It's quiet moments like these that give me time to pause and reflect on all the simple pleasures that bring so much joy to my life  :)


                                                          Spring Blooms in the yard

My wonderful kitties ~ Jasper & Jasmine... better known as the kids :)

My sprouts ~ aren't they beautiful   :) 

my garden! it's coming along slowly but surely

Wheatgrass! My newest love...

                                                 My son Brian & I  working in the kitchen together :)

And of course... Simple ~ Nutritious ~  Delicious Food!!

Strawberry Walnut Salad

splash of oil & balsamic vinegar ~ Delicious!

I've made some terrific new recipes lately ~ next up ~ a full foodie page!

Have a Happy Healthy Day